CUMBERLAND — Last year, both of No. 2 Allegany’s games with Fort Hill were one-sided in favor of the Campers.
This year, the rivalry figures to be more competitive, but Allegany still came out on top in the city opener 3-0 on Tuesday.
“Not our most complete performance, but that’s expected early on,” Allegany head coach Blake Geatz said. “I think overall, we got better as we went today.”
While possession felt close to equal early on, the Campers (2-1, 1-0 City League) seemed to generate more shots.
“I think it was a pretty decent showing by us,” Fort Hill head coach Zach Steckman said. “We wanted to come out and compete, we’re down a few guys. But I’m extremely proud of the guys that stepped up tonight.”
One of the early shots was the difference at halftime.
At 8:05 in the first half, Michael Cannon set up for a throw-in.
He found Steven Ness, who sent a header to Sam Panetta for the game’s only goal before halftime.
“One of our goals was to put a goal on the board in the first 10 minutes,” Geatz said. “It was off a set piece, couldn’t ask for any more than that.”
The next 30 minutes was controlled by Allegany, but the Sentinels (0-2-1, 0-1 City League) stayed alive with its defense.
“We had some key pressure points we wanted to hit on the field,” Steckman said. “I think we did a nice job of pressing those guys we wanted to press and creating those turnovers. But in the first half, we got really gassed. We got really stretched in the last 15-20 minutes.”
The Campers had several open shots that Fort Hill either deflected or blocked, and Leland Garcia played a big role in the net.
He saved six shots in the first half and 10 overall, making several sliding and diving stops that would’ve been goals.
After allowing 10 goals across two games on Saturday, he was charged with three on Monday.
“Tonight, I challenged him, I told him he was not very good on Saturday,” Steckman said. “I thought he was really good. The three goals he gave up probably shouldn’t have been saved anyway. Allegany was in good positions and they finished the ball well.”
Midway through the second half, Alco set up for a free kick. After Cole Ricker sent the free kick over 30 yards, Jack Hensel finished the play on a tap-in.
“The second goal was everything,” Geatz said. “I told them, it’s halftime, you gotta go out there and put the next goal in. Didn’t put it in as quickly as we’d like, but it’s off a set piece. And goals like that just kill a team.”
Late in the half, Noah Simmons found the net off a Chris Manherz assist.
Simmons fired from the left side and found the top right corner of the net.
The Campers outshot the Sentinels 22-6 including a 14-2 advantage in shots on goal, also finishing with a 2-1 edge in corners.
While Alco got the win, Geatz believes there’s plenty of room to improve.
“I thought we attacked and defended set pieces well, with the exception of that last free kick,” Geatz said. “We gotta work on attacking direct free kicks, we gotta work on our ability to get our corner kicks and throw-ins committed to muscle memory.”
Eoin Mowbray recorded a pair of saves for Allegany.
In the two meetings last season, Alco swept Fort Hill by a combined score of 16-2.
With an improved Sentinel squad and a Campers roster that lost 12 seniors, the rivalry appears to be much closer in 2024.
“It’s fantastic, it’s especially fun because of the history between these two schools,” Geatz said. “Having a rival that’s gonna challenge you, get you a good game. That very well could’ve been Fort Hill’s game at halftime if they converted some of the chances we allowed them. I’m so happy to see they have a shot to compete again.”
Both teams play on Thursday, as Fort Hill heads to Catoctin at 5 p.m. while Allegany hosts Southern at 7 p.m.